Wind instrument



May 10, 1932- R. J. HATHAwAY, JR 1,857,908

WIND INSTRUMENT Filed Nov. 28, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheefl 1 May 10, 1932 R. J. HATHAWAY, JR 1,857,908

WIND INSTRUMENT Filed Nov. 28, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 10, 1932 .PATENT OFFIC ROBERT J.`IIATHAWAY, JR., 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOISA WIND INSTRUMENT y Application led November 28, 1930. Serial No. 498,829.

Theinvention relates to wind instruments, and'has as its primary object the production ot' an improved instrument of the kind dem scribed upon which two tones may be execut- NIB' ed simultaneously. l

One formY of the invention is embodied in an.- instrument which comprises two saxophones havingy interlocking mechanisms :for

operating the stops, the construction being il() such that a part of each octave on each 1nstrument is controlled by the players left hand and the otherv part of these octaves of these two instruments is controlled by a players right hand. rhis arrangement simplities the task of executing a plurality ot tones simultaneously upon the instruments.

Instruments embodying the invention are particularly advantageous as one musician n can readily produce the same eit'ect as two musicians playing two different instruments in harmony. v

r`Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following detailed description progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure l is a fragmentary plan view of a wind instrument which embodies the invention.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2 2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the same line as Fig. 2, but showing' certain parts in l changed positions.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 4 4 of Fig. l.

Fig. 5 isl a section taken on line ot Fig. l.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged elevation of a mouth` piece forming part of the improved instru` ment shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 7 is a central longitudinal section through a mouth-piece embodying another form of the invention.

i Fig. 8 is a section taken on line 8-3 of the drawings show an instrument which embodies the invention and comprises two saxophones,.it is to be understood that my invention is limited to this particular use only to the extent indicated in the appended claims, i6 it will be readily understood to those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in other wind instruments, such as clarinets, flutes, etc.

Referring for the present to Fig. l, Where- B in a preferred form of the invention is illustrated, the reference characters l0 and ll designate two saxophone tubes or horns which are secured to each other by any suitable means, such as struts l2. The small ends of the tubes l() and ll are curved or bent to bring them into close proximity so that an improved mouth-piece 13 may be placed thereon. The'tubes l0 and 1l are provided with the usual vents. Thus the tube l0 is lI0 provided with vents 20, 2l, 22, 23, 24 and 25, and the tube ll is provided with vents 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 and In thisinstance the tubes l0 and ll are of identical construction and, 't'or the purpose of explanation, it is assumed I5 that when either of the vents or 35 is closed the tone B will be emitted from the correspondingftube. In a like manner the vents 34, 33, 32, 3l and 30 represent the notes A, Gr, F, D and E, respectively, and, therefore, in 90 View ot' the identical construction of the two tubes, the vents 24, 23, 22, 2l and 20 represent the tones A, G, F, D and E, respectively. The note C at the higher end of the octave illustrated in connection with each tube may 85 be obtained by closing either or both of the vents 24- and 34 alone and not the vents 25 and 35. The vents are provided with the usual vent covers or stops. Thus, the vents 20 to 25, inclusive, are provided with vent covers or 9 stops numbered from to 65, inclusive, and the vents 30 to 35, inclusive, are provided with vent covers or stops numbered from to 75, inclusive. Suitable springs are provided for holding the vent covers or stops in their normally open positions.

The vent covers or stops 60, 6l, and 62 are provided with tinger pieces 20j, 21j and 22j, respectively, and the vent covers or stops 7 3,

74 and 75 are provided with finger pieces 109 33j, 34j and 35j, respectively. The stops 60, 61 and 62 are pivoted upon a pin 80; the stops 63, 64 and 65 are pivoted upon a pin 81; the stops 70, 71 and 72 are pivoted upon a pin 82, and the stops 73, 74 and 75 are pivoted upon a pin 83. Extending longitudinally of the tubes 10 and 11 and disposed intermediate them are pins or rods and 86 which pivot a plurality of levers whereby the vent covers or stops may be manipulated in a manner hereinafter described.

Pivoted upon the pin 85 is a lever 90 having a finger piece 30k, the lever 90 being engageable with one end of a lever 91 which is pivoted upon the rod 86 and has its other end engageable with the stop 70. The musician may depress the finger piece 30k to angularly displace the levers 90 and 91 against the action of a spring 93 so that the stop 70 will close the vent 30.

A lever 95 pivoted on the rod 85 is engageable with one end of a lever 96 which has its other end engageable with the stop 70. The lever' 95 is provided with a finger piece 40 and is engagea-ble with the stop 60. The construction is such that when the finger piece 40 is depressed, the levers 95 and 96 will be angularly displaced against the action of a spring 97 to angularly displace the stops 60 and 70 so that they will close the vents 20 and 30, respectively.

Levers 90a and 905 are engageable with levers 91a and 915, respectively, and finger pieces 31k and 32k, respectively, and may be manipulated to bring the stops 71 and 72 into positions wherein they close the vents 31 and 32, respectively. Levers 95a and 955 are engageable with levers 96a and 965, respectively, and are provided with finger pieces 41 and 42, respectively, whereby they may be manipulated to have the stops 61, 62, 71 and 72 close the vents 21, 22, 31 and 32, respectively. The levers 90a, 95a, `905 and 955 are pivoted upon the rod 85 and the levers 91a, 96a, 915 and 965 are pivoted upon the rod 86, suitable springs being provided for holding the levers 91a, 96a, 915 and 965 1n positions wherein they permit the stops 71 and 72 to remain in their open positions and also hold the levers 90a, 95a, 905 and 955 out of engagement with the stops 61- and 62.

Pivoted upon the rod 86 are levers 100, 100@ and 1005 engageable with levers 101, 101e and 1015 pivoted upon the rod 85. Suitable springs disposed around the rod 85 engage the levers 101, 101a and 1015 and'yieldingly urge them in a counter-c1ockwise direction (Figs. 4 and 5) so that the stops 63, 64, 6 5, 73, 74 and 75 may remain in their open positions unless the finger pieces 33j, 34j and 35j are depressed, the finger pieces 50, 51 and 52 being provided upon the levers 100, a and 1005.

It will be noted that the finger pieces 30k, 20j, 40, 31k, 21j, 41, 32k, 22j and 42 may be depressed by the fingers of the right hand and that the finger pieces 33j, 50, 34.7, 51, and 52 may be depressed by the fingers of the left hand. In other words, the fingers of the right hand may manipulate a plurality of stops associated with each ofl the tubes 10 and 11 and the fingers of the left hand may manipulate a plurality of stops associated with each of the tubes 10 and 11.

For example, if the notes B and G are t0 be obtained, the musician does not depress any of the above identified finger pieces by the fingers of his right hand, but with the fingers of his left hand he depresses the finger pieces 52, and 33j. 1f the notes B and D are to be obtained, the musician employs the fingers of his right hand to depress the finger pieces 32k, 31k and 301el and employs the fingers of his left hand to depress the finger pieces 52, 34j and 33j. are to be obtained, the musician employs the fingers of his right hand to depress the finger pieces 321l and 3111 and employs the fingers of his left hand to depress the finger pieces 51, 35j and harmony within the range of the instrument may be played on the instrument by manipulating the above mentioned finger pieces.

lVhile octave keys are not shown upon the tubes 10 and 11, it is readily understood by those skilled in the art that such keys may be provided, if it is so desired.

Fig. 2 illustrates the manner in which the finger pieces may be depressed to close the vents 25 and 35 and Fig. 3 illustrates how the finger pieces 35j may be depressed to close the vent 35, while the vent 25 remains open. Fig. 4 illustrates the manner in which the finger piece 42 may be depressed to close the vents 22 and 32 and Fig. 5 illustrates the manner in which the finger piece 32k may be depressed to close the vent 32 while the vent 22 remains open.

Referring now to Fig. 6, it will be noted that the mouth piece 13 is provided with passages 13a and 135 which communicates with' the tubes 11 and 10, respectively. The outer ends of the passages 13a and 135 are provided with the usual reeds 130 and 13d, respectively, and it is readily understood that these reeds may be manipulated by the musician in the usual manner. The reeds may be secured to the mouthpiece 13 in the usual manner.

In Figs. 7, 8 and 9 a modified form of the invention is illustrated. A mouth piece is shown, which mouth piece 110 is provided with passages 110a and 1105, the passage 110a being disposed above the passage 1105. This is a different arrangement from that employed in the above described mouth piece 13 where the passages 13a and 135 are disposed laterally with respect to each other. The passages 110a and 1105 may communicate with the tubes of an instrument con- If the notes C and E l5 Obviously, any Q structed substantially like that shown in Fig. 1, it being only necessary to modify the tubes at the smaller ends so that they will be insertable in the passages. The passages 11005 and 1105 are provided with reeds 1100 and 11061, respectively, which are disposed above and below, respectively, a partition wall 111 which extends between the passages 110@ and 1105.

It is to be understood that the invention may be embodied in a device which comprises two instruments of different pitch, as well as two instruments of like pitch. A feature of the invention. is that the musician may use the fingers of his left hand to control stops on both of the instruments and likewise can use the fingers of his right hand to control other stops of the two instruments.

IVhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A wind instrument comprising two tubes having vents, closure members for said vents, means adjacent one of said tubes for controlling closure members associated with both of said tubes, and means adjacent one of said tubes solely for controlling the closure members associated with that tube.

2. A wind instrument comprising` two tubes having vents, closure members for said vents, means adjacent one of said tubes for controlling closure members associated with both tubes, means adjacent the other tube for controlling closure members associated with both tubes, and finger pieces adjacent one of said tubes solely for controlling the closure members associated with that tube.

3. A wind instrument comprising two tubes having vents, closure members for the vents of each of said tubes, means including finger pieces adjacent one of said tubes for controlling the closure members of the other tube, and finger pieces adjacent one of said tubes solely for controlling the closure members associated with that tube.

41:. A wind instrument comprising two tubes arranged side by side and provided with vents, closure members i'or the vents of each oi said tubes, means comprising inger pieces disposed at the outer side of one of said tubes for controlling the closure members of the other tube, and finger pieces adjacent one of said tubes solely for controlling the closure members associated with that tube.

5. A wind instrument comprisingl two tubes having vents, a closure member for the vents of each of said tubes, means including a finger piece for simultaneously actuating a closure member associated with one tube and a closure member associated with the other tube, and linger pieces adjacent one ot said tubes solely for controlling the closure members associated with that tube.

6. A wind instrument comprising two tubes having vents, closure members for the vents of each of said tubes, means having iinger pieces arranged along one of said tubes for controlling closure members of both of said tubes, means including finger pieces arranged along the other of said tubes for controlling closure members on both of said tubes, and inger pieces adjacent one of said tubes solely for controlling the closure meinbers associated with that tube.

7. A wind instrument comprising two tubes having vents, closure members for the vents of each of said tubes, means including finger pieces arranged along the right hand side of said instrument for controlling the closure members of both of said tubes, means including iinger pieces arranged along the lett hand side of said wind instrument for controlling closure members of both of said tubes, and finger pieces adjacent one of said tubes solely for controlling the closure members associated with that tube.

S. A mouth piece of the character described having two passages extending therethrough, one of said passages being disposed above the other, and a reed for each of said passages.

9. A mouth piece comprising a body portion having two passages extending therethrough and having a. partition wall separating said passages, one of said passages being disposed above the other, and a reed for each passa-ge, the free ends of said reeds being disposed adjacent the outer end of said partition.

10. A wind instrument comprising two tubes, each of said tubes being provided with vents, closure members for said vents, means adjacent one of said tubes for controlling closure members of the other tube, means adjacent one of said tubes solely for controlling the closure members of that tube, and a mouth-piece common to said tubes, said mouth-piece having two passages communiating with said tubes.

11. A mouth-piece of the character described having two passages extending therethrough, one of said passages being disposed above the other.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afix my signature, this 18th day of November, 1930.

ROBERT J. HATHAVVAY, JR. 

